Wakefield Museums and Castles

By 100AD the Romans had successfully conquered Yorkshire. Castleford was peaceful. The Roman soldiers left the area to fight elsewhere.

Unusually, the civilian town at Castleford continued to flourish after the demolition of the fort. Normally, Roman garrison towns faded away when the soldiers left.

These clay moulds help explain the town’s continuing success. They were for mass producing bronze spoons. Lots of these moulds have been found in Castleford. This tells us that the Romans must have been making thousands of spoons here.

We know that Castleford was an important metal-working centre. We have also found moulds for bronze water bottles and partly-made brooches. These metal objects are all things that Roman soldiers would have used as part of their everyday kit.

Castleford’s success came from being part of the supply chain for the Roman army.